Railroad skate having lockable retainers



July 9, 1963 s. J, BECK 3,096,729

Y RAILROAD SKATE HAVING LOCKABLE RETAINERS Filed April 5, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 QB Q? E .gu

INVENTOR. Samue/ J. 566K July 9, 1963 s. J. BECK 3,096,729'

RAILROAD SKATE HAVING LOCKABLE RETAINERS Filed April 5, 1962 A 2Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. Samuel J. Beck BY @MMNQW tates This inventionrelates to an improved railroad skate of the kind that is ladapted tomove past a -frog without being displaced from `the rail or causingd-ifliculties such as detailing of the car being braked thereby.

It is the most important object of the instant invention to provide askate wherein the skid bar thereof is prorvided with rail-embracingretainers serving to hold the skate on the rail and provided withlatches of the kind that lock the retainers until such time as one orthe other of the latches comes into engagement with a frog, whereuponthe corresponding retainer is unlocked `and permitted to rise to aposition clearing the frog as the retainer moves into engagement withthe latter.

Another important object of the instant invention is the provision of askate of the aforementioned character that is constructed in a manner tomake use of the latches for holding the retainers raised so that theywill not fall back into their normal position into the space between therails at the frog and become damaged, cause derailment or otherdifficulties.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a railway skate made pursuant tomy present invention showing the positions of the component parts at thetime -the car rail initially rolls thereupon and prior to skiddin'g intothe zone of a railway frog;

FIG. 2 is :a plan view of the skate without the wheel thereon randillustrating lthe positions of the component parts when the skateisinitially placed on the rail in position to receive the wheel;

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross sectional View through the rail and showin-gthe `skate in front elevation;

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view of the skate similar to FIG. 1 butwith the tongue thereof in its normal position for receiving the wheeland illustrating one of the retainersrlocked in its raised position;

FIG. 5 is a transverse cross sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4but showing the skate on a rail that is also illustrated in verticalcross section;

FlG. 6 is a side elevational view similar to FIG. 4 but with partsbroken `away and in section to reveal details of construction; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view similar to FIG. 2 but partially in sectionsubstantially along line 7-7 of FIG. 6 and with one of the retainersentirely removed.

The railway skate of my instant invention includes an elongated skid bar10 having a smooth uninterrupted lower surface `adapting the same torest flatly upon the uppermost face of head 12 lforming a pant of aconventional rail 16. Rail 16 has the usual web 18 interconnecting head12 and flange 20l thereof.

One end of the bar 10 has a bevel 22 -at its lower edge and the oppositeend of the -bar 1d carries a tongue 24. Tongue 24 is provided with acentral arm 26 tted within a recess 28 between a pair of ribs 30integral with the bar 10. A ramp 32, normally engaging the upper face ofhead 12, is integral with one end of the arm 26 land an apron 34 isprovided at the inner end of the arm 26. A pintle 36 through the ribs 30and the arm 26 swingably mounts the tongue 24 on the bar 10 for verticalswinging movement.

An upstanding median plate 33 integral with the bar arent 16 is providedwith a handle 40 and with an abutment 42 that is engaged Aby car wheel44 in the manner illustrated by FIG. 1 of the drawings.

A pair of retainers broadly designated by the numerals 46 land 48 areidentical; hence, the retainer 46 will be described and :correspondingcomponent parts of the retainer 43 will be designated by the samenumerals except only that the same will .be primed.

Retainer 46 is somewhat in the nature of an elongated, hollow,downwardly opening body provided with a top wal-l 50 (including a pairof hoods 52 and 54), an outermost side wall 56, an inner wall 58 and apair of end walls 6d and 62, the wall 58 normally resting on the bar 10.

The walls '56 and 58 iare spaced apart to normally receive a lug 64therebetween adjacent end wall 60, the lug 64 constituting an integralpart of the upper face off bar 10. An upstanding guide 66, yalsointegral with the bar 10, adjacent the wall 62, is also received betweenthe walls 56 and 58 `and is provided with a rearwardly receivinguppermost arcuate edge 63. A keeper 7 il on the guide 66 extendsrearwardly therefrom yand is spaced above the upper surface of the bar10. A cross plate 72 interconnects the guides 66 and 66 and is integralwith the upper face of bar 10. The wall 58 is provided with a downwardlyfacing slot 74 which clears the plate 72.

A similar cross plate 76 in spaced parallelism to the plate 72 iscleared by a downwardly facing slot '78 in the wall 58 `and is providedwith a rearwardly extending keeper 80 spaced above the bar 10.

A pair of spaced blocks 82 on the inner face of wall 56 normally engagethe corresponding side of head 12 and directly above the blocks 82retainer 46 is provided with :an elongated bolt 84 forming a part of alatch broadly designated by the numeral 86. The bolt 84 is slidable foreand aft between walll 56 and the outer faces of lug 64 and guide 66, laswell as the proximal ouiter end of plate 76.

Bolt 84 has a pair of spaced transverse ears 88 and 90 that extendoutwardly through elongated guide holes 92 in the plate 56. Ears 88 and90 also extend inwardly into overlapping relationship to the upper faceof bar 1i). The ears 88 and 90 vare adapted to either underlie keepers80 and 70, respectively, or overlie such corresponding keepers, as willbe hereinafter clarified.

Bolt 84 is yieldably biased toward the forwardmost end of its path oftravel Where ears 88 and 90 engage wall 76 .and guide v66, respectively,by a spring 94 contained within a tube 96 that is cast as a part of andextends forwardly from the end wall 62. Spring 94 is interposed betweenVthe end wall 62 and an upstanding pin 98 on bolt 84 riding within a slot100 in the tube 96. The outermost or forwardmost end of the bolt 34 hasa boss 102 provided with a wedge 104 which enters a vertical,transversely V-shaped groove 166 in the forwardmost end of wall 56 whenthe bolt 84 is shifted to the inner most end of its path of travelagainst the action of spring 94.

In operation, the skate is placed upon the rail 16 with the bar 10 andthe ramp 32 resting upon the upper surface of head 12, as illustrated inFIGS. 2 and 3, and at that time, the retainers 46 .and 48 are both downin embracing relationship to the sides of the head 12, as best seen inFIG. 3. In such condition all four blocks 82- 82-82-82 are in closeproximity to the sides of the head 12 and the lower edge of the innerwall 58-58 are resting upon the upper surface of bar 10.

Also, the retainers 46 and 48 are held locked in their lower positionsby their latches S6 and 86. Such locking results from the fact that theears 88 and 90 underlie the keepers 80 and 70, and, by the same token,the ears 8S and 90 are beneath -their corresponding keepers 80 and 70.

When the wheel 44 rolls into position upon the skate it first climbs theramp 32 and thence .rolls upon the apron 34 and against the abutment 42.This tilts the tongue 24 to raise the ramp 32 otf the head 12 of rail 16so that the ramp 32 does not engage the rail as the bar 10 skids alongthe rail 16, supporting the wheel 44, and therefore serving as a braketo ultimately bring the railway car to a stop.

llf no frog is encountered, then throughout the entire skidding movementof the skate the retainers 46 .and 48 remain lowered and operate toguide the skate along the head 12 and maintain it properly mountedthereon.

However, in the event the skate moves into the zone of a frog, one ofthe bosses 102 or 102' (depending upon which side of the rail 16 thefrog happens to be located) will engage such frog. Assuming that boss102 contacts the frog 4at its cam edge 108, bolt 84 will shift againstthe action of spring 94, retracting the ears 88 and 94) from beneath thekeepers 80 and 70.

The cam edge 110 of the leading block 82 will then contact the frog,causing the retainer 46 to tilt upwardly, the ear 90 rising along therearwardmost free end of keeper 70. The lowermost edge of the wall 56will then ride over the frog, shifting the ear 88 upwardly along arearmost free end of the keeper 80'. Hence, the entire retainer 46 willrise to a position above the horizontal plane of the upper surface ofhead 12 and as soon as the boss 102 clears the frog, spring 100 becomesoperable to return 4the bolt 84 to its forwardmost position. This shiftsthe ears y38 and 90 forwardly to a position overlying the keepers 8) and70, respectively, so that the ears 88 and 99 hold the retainer 46 in theraised position.

As the skate continues to skid along a track, the retainer 48 remains inits lowered position, operating to guide the skate along the track 16.

Manifestly, the same operation occurs when the frog is on the oppositeside of the rail 16 and is engaged by the boss 102. In FIG. 5 of thedrawings the retainer 48 is illustrated in its upward position, lockedby its latch 86 against downwardmovement. On the other hand, FIG.illustrates the retainer 46 still locked in its lowered position bylatch 86.

Movement of the wedge 104 into the groove 106 tends to guide the boss102 and' hold it against lateral movement as the bolt =84 reaches theinnermost end of its path of travel and while the boss 102 remains inengagement with the frog.

A pair of stop bolts 112 carried by the median plate 38 and extending inopposite directions therefrom above the retainers 46 and 4S limit theextent of upward movement of such retainers to prevent lthem frombecoming displaced from their interacting relationship with the guides66 and 66 and the lugs 64- and 64.

It can now be appreciated that there has been provided a skate that willn `ot become displaced from the rail because of the two retainers whichare normally locked in position embracing the head of the rail. However,the skate will pass frogs because of the fact that each retainer isreleasable when its latch moves against the frog so that the latter inturn will raise the proximal retainer and permit it to ride over thefrog. Moreover,

retainer has become locked against downward moved ment land will not,therefore, fall into the rail spacing that is present at the frog area.Furthermore, since the two retainers are separate one from the other,the retainer that remains locked in its lowered position continues toguide the skate along the rail after the skate moves beyond the zone ofthe frog.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new and desiredto be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A railroad skate comprising: an elongated skid bar adapted to restupon a rail `and serve as a brake under a railroad car wheel; anupstanding abutment on the bar against which the wheel rolls when itmoves upon the bar; -a pair of retainers disposed to overlap the sidesof the rail -t-o hold the bar in place thereon; means mounting theretainers on the bar for upward movement when the same strike a railroadfrog within the path thereof as the bar skids along the rail with thewheel supported thereby; and a shiftable latch for each retainerrespectively normally holding the same locked to the bar and againstupward movement, each latch being disposed to strike the frog, when thelatter is within its path of travel, ahead of its retainer for movementto an unlocked position prior to striking of the frog by such retainer.2. The invention of claim l: and means limiting the extent `of upwardmovement of the retainers relative to the bar. 3. The invention of claiml: Y and means for each latch respectively yieldably biasing the sametoward a retainer-locking position. 4. The invention of claim l: andmeans coacting with the latches and holding the retainers in theirraised position after passing the frog. 5. The invention of claim l:each latch having a bolt carried by its retainer for reciprocablefore-and-aft movement, and a keeper carried by the bar for holding thelatch against upward movement. 6. The invention of claim 5 the boltshaving ears underlying the keepers when the retainers are down, andoverlying the keepers when the retainers are raised to hold the latterin a raised position. 7. The invention of claim 6:

and spring means between the retainers and the bolts yieldably biasingthe latter forwardly for holding the ears beneath the keepers when theretainers are down and above the keepers when the retainers are up. 8.The invention of claim 7: and guides on the bar separately supportingthe retainers for upward tilting movement as the forward end of eitherretainer initially contacts the frog. 9. The invention of claim 8: `andlaterally-extending stop means carried by the bar `above the retainersfor limiting the extent of upward movement thereof. Y

No references cited.

1. A RAILROAD SKATE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED SKID BAR ADAPTED TO RESTUPON A RAIL AND SERVE AS A BRAKE UNDER A RAILROAD CAR WHEEL; ANUPSTANDING ABUTMENT ON THE BAR AGAINST WHICH THE WHEEL ROLLS WHEN ITMOVES UPON THE BAR; A PAIR OF RETAINERS DISPOSED TO OVERLAP THE SIDES OFTHE RAIL TO HOLD THE BAR IN PLACE THEREON; MEANS MOUNTING THE RETAINERSON THE BAR FOR UPWARD MOVEMENT WHEN THE SAME STRIKE A RAILROAD FROGWITHIN THE PATH THEREOF AS THE BAR SKIDS ALONG THE RAIL WITH THE WHEELSUPPORTED THEREBY; AND A SHIFTABLE LATCH FOR EACH RETAINER RESPECTIVELYNORMAL-